Thailand south attacks wound 3 as troops reinforced

Dozens of coordinated night-time attacks across Thailand's southern border provinces wounded three people, burned government buildings and vehicles, and were followed by a reinforcement of security forces in the region.

Thailand's military Internal Security Operations Command said 51 incidents took place from about 8:00 pm to midnight across the southern border provinces over the weekend. Most were in Narathiwat province, where authorities imposed an overnight curfew, while other attacks took place in Yala and Pattani.

Provincial officials said two women, aged 45 and 46, and a 21-year-old man were wounded in a roadside bombing in Narathiwat. All three were hospitalised in stable condition.

Authorities said local government offices and vehicles were damaged or destroyed. ISOC also said part of a rail route in Narathiwat was temporarily suspended after officials found track damage caused by a bombing incident. The attacks were followed on Monday by an explosion at a convenience store.

No group has claimed responsibility. Thailand has reinforced its military presence in the south, and Malaysia has also increased security on the border.

The attacks are the latest violence in Thailand's far south, where a low-level insurgency has continued for more than two decades. Around 7,000 people have been killed since 2004, according to Deep South Watch.

Thailand first held peace talks with the Barisan Revolusi Nasional, the main rebel group, in 2013 under Malaysian mediation. The latest round was held in December, but negotiations have repeatedly stalled.

Thailand's head negotiator, Thanat Suwannanon, told local media that the attacks may have been intended to gain leverage before the next round of talks and to test security forces. He said talks were expected in late October after discussions planned for September were postponed following soldiers' deaths.

International Crisis Group analyst Matthew Wheeler said the weekend attacks were notable for their scale but that similar incidents had occurred regularly for more than two decades. Malaysia-based counterterrorism expert Munira Mustaffa described the attacks as insurgent signalling aimed at pushing the government back to negotiations.